Born in Dawson, Georgia Redding was the son of Otis & Fannie Redding in the year 1941. From childhood Otis sang in the Vineville Baptist Church Choir and was trained in guitar, piano & drums. Through out high school he sang in a band as well as each Sunday singing gospel songs on Macon radio station WIBB. His biggest musical influences were Sam Cooke and Little Richard. Redding stated that he “entered the music business because of Richard – he is my inspiration”.
From 15 Redding left school to work several different jobs to support his family after his father contracted tuberculosis. Whilst working Redding occasionally played piano in another band in Macon with a local musician called Glayds Williams who Redding claims was another musical inspiration for him.
His breakthrough came from a talent contest known as “The Teenage Party” hosted by local disc jockey Hamp Swain at the Macon Douglass Theatre. At the talent show he sang a cover of Little Richards “Heebie Jeebies” and was eventually invited to be the new front man of Pat T. Cake and the Mighty Panthers. Redding then replaced Little Richard in the Upsetters when he left to pursue gospel music rather than rock and roll. Although he was paid well with the Upsetters he did not stay long.
When Redding turned 19 he married Zelma Atwood, who he met through the talent show, she gave birth to their son Dexter and they moved to Los Angeles. It was in LA he wrote is first songs; “She’s Alright”, “Tuff Enuff”, “I’m Getting’ Hip” and “Gamma Lamma”.
In late 1966, Redding recorded “Try a Little Tenderness” in the Stax studio. This song had previously been covered by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, and the publishers desperately and unsuccessfully tried to stop Redding from doing the song from a “negro perspective”. Now considered his signature song, Jim Stewart (co-founded of tax records) stated, “If there’s one song, one performance that really sort of sums up Otis and what he’s about, it’s ‘Try a Little Tenderness’. That one performance is so special and so unique that it expresses who he is.”
The spring of 1966 marked the first time that Stax booked concerts for its artists.Booking agent Bill Graham proposed that Redding play at the Fillmore Auditorium in London. The gig was commercially and critically successful. It prompted Graham to remark afterwards, “That was the best gig I ever put on in my entire life.”
In 1967, Redding performed at the influential Monterey Pop Festival as the closing act on Saturday night, the second day of the festival. Until that point, Redding was still performing mainly for black audiences.Redding and his backing band opened with Sam Cooke’s “Shake“, after which he delivered an impulsive speech, asking the audience if they were the “love crowd” and looking for a big response. The ballad “I’ve Been Loving You” followed. The last song was “Try a Little Tenderness”, including an additional chorus. “I got to go, y’all, I don’t wanna go”, said Redding and left the stage of his last major concert. His act also included his own song “Respect”,a version of the Rolling Stones‘ “Satisfaction” which was greatly received.
In early December 1967, Redding again recorded at Stax & one of those new songs was”Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”. It was written whilst he was staying with his friend, Earl “Speedo” Simms, on a houseboat in Sausalito. Redding was inspired by the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and tried to create a similar sound, against the label’s wishes. His wife Zelma disliked its atypical melody and disapproved of the recording. The Stax crew were also dissatisfied with the new sound; the head of the studio thought that it was not R&B, while bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn feared it would damage Stax’s reputation. However, Redding wanted to expand his musical style and thought it was his best song, correctly believing it would top the charts. His whistle at the end of the song was completely improvised.
On the 10th of December 1967, after a phone call with his wife and children, Redding boarded his Beechcraft H18 airplane, along with the Bar-Kays, headed for their next gig in Madison, Wisconsin. Despite bad weather and a personal warning from James Brown telling him not to fly the plane Redding took off as planned. The plane crashed into Lake Monona and Ben Cauley of the Bar-Kays was the only survivor. Redding’s body was recovered the next day when the lake was searched. His funeral was held on the 18th of December & took place at the City Auditorium in Macon. More than 4,500 people attended the funeral, over flowing the 3,000 seat hall. Redding was entombed at his ranch in Round Oak, 20miles north of Macon. He died just three days after recording “The Dock of the Bay” at the age of 26.
- 1 These Arms Of Mine by Otis Redding
- 2 Pain In My Heart by Otis Redding
- 3 Mr Pitiful by Otis Redding
- 4 Try A Little Tenderness (Remastered album version) by Otis Redding
- 5 Respect by Otis Redding
- 6 I’ve Been Loving You Too Long by Otis Redding
- 7 The Dock Of The Bay/Sittin’ On by Otis Redding
- 8 My Lover’s Prayer (album version) by Otis Redding
- 9 Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (mono – remastered) by Otis Redding
- 10 Shake (album version) by Otis Redding
- 11 The Happy Song (Dum-Dum-De-De-De-Dum-Dum) by Otis Redding
- 12 Tramp by Otis Redding & Carla Thomas
- 13 I’ve Got Dreams To Remember by Otis Redding
- 14 That’s How Strong My Love Is by Otis Redding
Stax of Soul 